Can't Choose Family
by Esmeia
Summary: A confrontation between Alvin and Simon escalates to dangerous levels, leaving one of them in the hospital. Will they be able to put aside their differences for the sake of family? Family bonding, slight OC appearance, request, oneshot.


**Can't Choose Family**

**XOXOXOXOXO**

_Author's Note: Alright, I'm actually doing my first story request! Pretty sweet. _

_I'm more likely to take story requests than I am for art, because art takes me a hell of a lot longer. Just in case some people are wondering why they're open here and not for DA/FA._

_This is a request for Linix. He wanted a family moment between the three brothers, with some bonding between Simon and Alvin. I thought this was interesting, and gave me a good opportunity to write a good family bonding fic. _

_Also, his OC Micheal is © to Linix, of course. _

_The Chipmunks/Chipettes belong to Ross Jr and Janice. _

_All I own is this fic._

_Enjoy! Requests are still open, for now. :D_

_XOXOXOXOXO_

Things were escalating.

_Fast._

It all started out relatively benign: Theodore had asked for advice on how to treat Eleanor when they went on a date on the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. He valued both Simon and Alvin's input, since they both seemed to know a bit more than he did when it came to matters of the heart. Alvin had suggested he woo her with certain phrases while Simon suggested he be a gentleman.

All Theodore did was remark on how both seemed like good tactics. Simon insisted that his way was better. Then Alvin shot back and demanded Theodore take _his _advice.

From that point on, matters quickly spiraled out of control: what started as a calm conversation soon turned into a screaming match. Theodore had to come between his older brothers and push them apart.

"Guys, please! Calm down, it's nothing to fight over!" Theodore pleaded, glancing towards their bedroom door. He was tempted to bolt from the room and retrieve Dave.

"Are you absolutely insane?" Simon yelled at Alvin, folding his arms. "Those were some of the _cheesiest,_ most _embarrassing _pick-up lines I have ever heard! Theodore wants to make this work with the girl, not end it!"

"Oh, like being a stick-in-the-mud and boring her to death is going to work out _so_ much better?" Alvin spat, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, _that's_ definitely going to help him out."

To Theodore's relief the Chipettes peeked into their room. There was no doubt that they could hear the commotion from across the hall and decided to investigate. Or tell them to shut up, whichever worked.

"Hey!" Brittany said, glaring at the two fighting brothers. "What in the world is going on? We're trying to study!"

"Not now, Britt," Alvin said, rolling up his sleeves.

Theodore gasped and ran over, clutching Alvin's arms. "Wait, stop! This is just ridiculous, guys!"

"That's right!" Eleanor said, hands on her hips. "I know you fight a lot but calm down!"

"I was just trying to help Theo out, and he butts in and tries to shut me down! What the heck?" Alvin said, writhing away from Theodore.

"I wouldn't have to 'butt in' if you gave him _good advice_," Simon sneered. "I've always said that you were a bad influence."

"Excuse me?" Brittany snapped, growing red. Even though she could have her small spats with her counterpart, she didn't appreciate anyone else doing so. Especially when it came to his own brother!

"Simon, please!" Jeanette said, trying to calm her boyfriend down. "Let's all just settle down and take a deep breath, okay?"

"Yeah, Simon," Alvin smirked, snatching his sleeves away from Theodore. "It's best if you just _leave_ for a while."

"Alvin, just let it go," Brittany sighed. "You both are acting like babies."

"Better listen to her, Alvin," Simon snapped back. "We both know who always wins conversations that involve even a _small_ amount of intellect -"

_Crack!_

The hit came so hard and so fast, Simon couldn't even comprehend what had happened. He stumbled back and fell against the wall, blood pouring from his nose. He blinked and coughed up a few more droplets, watching them stain his blue shirt.

He slowly looked back up and watched as Alvin crack his knuckles.

Jeanette screamed in alarm and immediately ran to Simon's side. Brittany looked stunned, obviously not expecting the conflict to go that far. Eleanor and Theodore had wisely gone to fetch Dave.

"Oh my god, Simon, are you okay?" Jeanette asked, taking out a small handkerchief from side pocket on her jacket and holding it under his nose. Simon winced when it softly brushed against it.

_He nearly broke my nose! _

Gently pushing Jeanette aside, he bolted upright and slammed against Alvin's stomach. Alvin coughed and gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, keeling over in pain. Simon didn't allow him time to recover as he clenched his right fist and slammed it against his head, knocking him back and onto the floor.

"Stop!" Brittany screamed. She came in-between him and Alvin, dropping to her knees beside her boyfriend. "Have you lost your mind?"

Alvin, however, didn't stay down long and lunged back at him in retaliation, despite Brittany's pleas for him to stay down. Simon braced himself and took the tackle head-on. The two small chipmunks rolled around for a moment before Simon got the upper hand. He then landed several punches to the sides of Alvin's face. As he continued to punch him, he felt Alvin's strength slowly drain...

"W-What is going on here?" said a fourth male chipmunk from outside the door. Simon didn't even have to stop what he was doing to know it was their next door neighbor, Micheal. He was a good friend of the Seville who visited often. He had forgotten that he was planning to visit today, and felt slightly embarrassed that he had to see all this.

That didn't mean he was going to stop though. Alvin had this coming for a long, _long_ time.

Before he could land another punch, he was quickly plucked up and raised off of his brother. He panted as his father, Dave, set him aside and picked up his other son.

"What the hell happened here?" Dave roared, gingerly lifting Alvin. To his horror, Alvin was barely breathing. His breath was labored and his hazelnut-colored fur was tainted with blood. He quickly set him on his bed before turning to the other six. "My God, he needs an ambulance. I'm going to go downstairs to make a call. _Do not_ move him, understand?"

Theodore, Eleanor, Jeanette, Brittany and Micheal tearfully agreed. Dave shot a glare at Simon, pointing at him.

"And you, Simon. I can't believe _you,_ of all people, would do this. You especially need to stay back."

That hurt. Simon was by no means perfect, but he had never seen Dave so livid with him before.

Dave quickly ran out of the room and downstairs. Brittany burst into tears, terrified that Alvin was seriously hurt. Eleanor, also panicked, tried her best to console her sister. Theodore, amazingly, was completely serious and focused as he tried to make Alvin's surroundings more comfortable. Jeanette was faithfully tending to Simon's wounds, effectively calming him down.

"God, Jeanette..." Simon sighed, closing his eyes. "I really did it this time, didn't I?"

"Oh, Simon..." Jeanette sighed, stroking his hair soothingly. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Have faith. You didn't mean to go that far, I know it."

"I know," Simon said, sitting up a bit. "But he's family. I should have exercised more self-control. Especially in front of you and the others."

"Hey, the ambulance is here!" Micheal called from his watch on the window sill. "Let's help Dave out, guys."

Considering Alvin's small size, it didn't take long for the paramedics to transport him to the ambulance. Dave and his charges rode in the back of the ambulance, praying that Alvin would be alright.

It finally hit Simon just how much damage he had done: Alvin's face was almost completely covered in blood, and the purple hints of a few bruises could be seen through his light brown fur. Although he had always held a bit of a grudge or slight resentment towards his older brother, he his family regardless. Before the three of them met their adoptive father, Alvin and Theodore was all he had in the world.

"What did I do?" Simon groaned softly.

XOXOXOXOXO

Less than fifteen minutes later, Alvin was admitted into the nearest institutional facility. To everyone's relief (especially Dave's), the doctor assured them that his injuries were definitely _not_ life-threatening and that he could go home within the hour. They were still not allowed to enter the room, however, so they waited just outside.

"I'm so glad he's okay," Theodore sighed. "It looked pretty bad back there."

Simon felt a pang of guilt. He had always taught that patience and a non-violent approach was usually the best option and had pressed Theodore to live by that philosophy. What kind of role model was he by going against his own teachings?

A hypocrite.

"Theodore?" Simon said, resting a paw on the smaller chipmunk's shoulder. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. No, that I even did that at all. You must really hate me for that."

"Of course I don't hate you, Simon," Theodore said, shaking his head emphatically. He gave him a big smile. "I could never be disappointed or mad at you, much less _hate_ you. But, you know... I really think the two of you should apologize to each other. Don't you think so?"

Simon knew what Theodore said was completely rational. After all, it was the right thing to do. Even though he knew he had to, it was easier said than done. He could only imagine the choice words Alvin had saved up just for him.

"You're right, Theodore," Simon admitted. "I'll do that the first chance I get."

The door swung open and the doctor stepped into the hallway. He gave them a nod of approval and stepped aside for them to see Alvin. The group of seven walked inside and were relieved to see the boy in question relaxing on top of the medical bed. The swelling in his head had gone down significantly, and without the blood covering his face and neck it was obvious that it would only take a week or two before he was back to his old appearance.

Dave came over and sat beside him, tenderly patting his eldest son's back. "How are you feeling, Alvin?"

"I'm feeling okay," Alvin said, gently touching his cheek. He winced slightly and left it alone. "I'll live."

"Alvin, you had me worried sick!" Brittany said, hopping over next to him and hugging him gently. "You idiot."

Alvin cheered up greatly at Brittany's hug, returning it. "Aw, you were worried about me!"

"Of course I was! You were really banged up back there," Brittany said, playfully smacking his shoulder.

Simon shuffled his feet uncomfortably at her comment. Jeanette picked up on this and gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

"Go on," Jeanette said.

"Yeah, it's cool," Micheal shrugged. "He has some apologizing of his own, I think."

"Alright, I got the point," Alvin laughed, overhearing their conversation. "You three are the _worst _at keeping secrets, good lord."

Theodore giggled, shaking his head. "We'll let you two talk it over. Is that alright, Dad?"

"That's a good idea, Theodore," Dave said, standing up. He glared at both Alvin and Simon. "And enjoy the time here at the hospital: because when we get home you'll have to go through whatever punishment I come up with on the ride home. Fun stuff, right?"

Alvin gulped nervously and Simon winced.

The others left the room to allow Alvin and Simon to talk things over. Simon came to sit next to him, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Alvin coughed, rubbing his shoulder.

"Um, hey man," Alvin said reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I did overreact back there and throw the first punch. I'm sorry."

Simon smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"That may be true, but I'm the one that kept egging you on and then attacked you. I was... over the top, to be frank. I should have just let it go," Simon sighed. "I apologize for that, Alvin. I hope you can forgive me."

Alvin laughed and playfully put his little brother in a head lock, giving him a noogie. Simon wriggled away from him, angry that he had nearly knocked off his glasses and messed up his neatly groomed hair.

"Alvin!" Simon yelled, glaring at him.

"See? Now _that's_ the Simon I know," Alvin laughed. "Really, it's no big deal. We're fam', we can't change that."

"I suppose you're right," Simon said. "But we should never let things get like that again. Especially not in front of those that care for us. I've never seen Dave so disappointed."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Alvin said, looking down at his hands. "Believe me, there's been plenty of times I got on Dave's bad side. But I never saw him that _peeved_. Can't blame him, though."

"No, you can't," Simon said. He smiled and helped Alvin up. "Come on, let's go home. Sitting here all day isn't going to put off our punishment."

"Aw, I guess you're right," Alvin snickered, gingerly standing up. "I gotta say, though, I never knew that you could deal such a killer right hook!"

"Neither did I," Simon laughed, opening the door the door for him to pass through. "I'll take that as a compliment."

The group drove back home, dropping Micheal off at his guardian's house. Thankfully, the fight from before didn't seem to faze the three brothers' bond much, and the rest of the evening went by in relative peace.

Dave, of course, gave them both a hefty punishment: twice the amount of chores, no desserts, and no television for a month. Alvin and Simon accepted this without complaint. Theodore assured them that he understood that fights sometimes happen, and the two of them promised to have better self-control in the future.

They both came to the conclusion that, even though they're family wasn't anywhere near perfect, there wasn't anything they'd change about it.

XOXOXOXOXO

_Author's Note: Haha, I finally got this done. Actually, I guess you can call this a request for two people: Linix and Munk19, who wanted a family moment between the brothers. _

_Oh, and this is NOT a pairing fic, besides a few hints with the Chipettes. I do not support yaoi/incest in any way, so please don't mistake this for what it isn't. Family bonding is just that, in my eyes. KTHXBAI._

_Also, I do NOT hate Alvin, guys. I did do a few stories of him being the one with the worst luck, or the "villain", but I don't hate the boy. He's a good guy, really. His CGI version's growing on me, unlike the cartoon one which I detested before the rebooted the Chipmunks. But he's definitely a guy with a good heart, so I'm not out to get him or anything. * laughs * He's just not my favorite of the six, is all. But who knows, Chip-Wrecked might bump him up. :D_


End file.
